[Coreym07]

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and four other people were shot and wounded Wednesday morning as the Republican congressional baseball team held an early-morning practice in Alexandria, Virginia.

Witnesses -- including many members of Congress -- described a terrifying scene, with a gunman who reloaded while standing on the field and the wounded congressman "screaming for help."

Congressman Describes Va. Attack: 'The Gunfire Was Non-Stop'Congressman Describes Va. Attack: 'The Gunfire Was Non-Stop'
Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., describes the moment a gunman opened fired as the Republican congressional baseball team held an early-morning practice in Alexandria, Virginia.
(Published 18 minutes ago)

The five injured include two Capitol Police officers and the gunman, who was shot by police who responded to the scene, said Alexandria Police Chief Michael Brown. An aide to Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, was also shot, the congressman’s office said.

A witness described the shooter as a white man, dressed in t-shirt and shorts. His demeanor was "calm," said witness Falisa Peoples.

'Thoughts and Prayers': Politicians React to GOP Shooting

"He didn’t say anything ... he was just shooting," said Peoples, who was about to teach an exercise class at a nearby YMCA. "They were shooting at each other … I thought it was some exercise."

NBC News reported that there is no indication that the shooter had any ties to international terrorism.

Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, is in surgery and in stable condition at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, his office said. "The whip was in good spirits and spoke to his wife by phone," the statement read.

Two of the other people shot were at George Washington University Hospital in critical condition, according to a statement from the hospital.

Shots Fired at GOP Congressional Baseball Practice in Va.Shots Fired at GOP Congressional Baseball Practice in Va.

Sen. Claire McCaskill tweeted early Wednesday that she had spoken to Capitol Police and that the officers "will be ok."

The congressional baseball team practices daily at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park, located off East Monroe Avenue in a quiet Del Ray neighborhood. Many other congressmembers were there for practice shortly after 7 a.m., including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona.

"We were doing batting practice, and all of a sudden, someone came with a rifle. I think he had handguns as well," said Flake, a Republican from Arizona.

"He had a lot of ammo and shot, it looked like indiscriminately, across the field, hitting a member and a couple of staffers," Flake said.


“Scalise was on second base, and was crawling out, leaving a trail of blood,” said Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., in an interview on CNN.

Other members of Congress helped him, including Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio. He "started doing what you need to do to stop the blood loss,” Brooks said.

President Trump issued a statement: "Vice President and I are aware of the shooting incident in Virginia and are monitoring developments closely. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the members of Congress, their staffs, Capitol Police, first responders, and all others affected."

Witness David Woodruff said he was running past the field when he heard 12 to 14 gunshots, a brief pause and then four more shots.

Woodruff said he ducked into a garage and called 911.

"Other witnesses here told me that they heard upwards of 60 shots. Again, it sounded like there was a rather lengthy gun battle between those Capitol protective detail and the assailant...," Woodruff said.

He said he saw a U.S. Park Police helicopter depart with two victims and at least one ambulance leave with police protection.

Reba Winstead lives near the scene of the shooting, and says she heard at least 30 shots as she was getting her daughter dressed for school.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom for the first 10 our so, then there was a pause and then they started up again," Winstead said. "It was just a calm morning and then all of a sudden there's gunfire in our neighborhood."

Witnesses at a nearby YMCA say bullets from the shooting pierced the front windows of the busy facility, but no one inside was injured.

Another witness to the event, Benjamin Childers, posted a live stream of the aftermath of the shooting on Periscope.

“We had three members of Congress take shelter in our apartment,” he said as sounds of emergency vehicles could be heard.

Childers later told NBC News he was on his balcony when he heard the gunshots break out.

He saw the three men running toward his apartment and brought them inside where they called their families to let them know they were okay.

In response to the shooting, Capitol Police "deployed a robust police presence" throughout the Capitol, a spokesman said in a statement. All Capitol complex buildings remained open.

However, no votes are expected in the House today.

The Congressional Baseball Game, a bipartisan tradition, was scheduled for Thursday, according to Roll Call. The game dates back to 1909, and is one of the capital’s most anticipated events of the summer, with members of Congress sporting the uniforms of their favorite teams as the two parties face off.

It's become a charity fundraiser. Last year, Republicans broke a long losing streak to beat the Democrats 8-7.

Police confirmed that the suspect is in custody. Though they said there was no longer an active threat, all Alexandria schools were briefly put on "lock-in" status. It was lifted at about 9 a.m.

Source: Rep. Scalise Among 5 Shot at Congressional Baseball Practice in Va. | NBC4 Washington http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/lo...#ixzz4jzI5etBa
Follow us: @nbcwashington on Twitter | NBCWashington on Facebook

[wmbondurant]

Congress sucks . They for real won't get shit done now ..

[BryanXavier]

Originally Posted by wmbondurant ↗

Congress sucks . They for real won't get shit done now ..

That "thank" was for your new avatar

[wmbondurant]

Originally Posted by BryanXavier ↗

That "thank" was for your new avatar

:-)

[kellyhound]

Originally Posted by Coreym07 ↗

Police confirmed that the suspect is in custody.

He died. 66 year old James Hodgkinson.
Scalise was hit in his hip and had surgery and doing fine. is in critical condition.

[bdaddy775]

A crazed leftist commits suicide the loudest way possible. Good thing he couldn't shoot for shit.

[el_topo]

Originally Posted by bdaddy775 ↗

A crazed leftist commits suicide the loudest way possible. Good thing he couldn't shoot for shit.

How do you know any details about the shooter?

[zhazoo]

People should be glad a Republican wasn't shooting...he would have hit his targets.

[Kmart164]

Originally Posted by shoelessjojackson ↗

How do you know any details about the shooter?

Dude was a communist fuckass who was all in for Bernie the Jew.

Reports saying that he asked whether it was Republicans or Democrats practicing, then went about the shooting. Also there's rumor that the guy was fine in the hospital then all of the sudden went critical then croaked. (How true that is I'm not sure, but if true, very suspicious)

This really can be blamed on the media. Constant "Murder Trump and his supporters!" rhetoric. Day in and day out. Since June 2015. They have blood on their hands and they know it. If you're gonna kill indiscriminately you should start at a national news outlet.

[Sibella]

DONT.EVEN.CARE

sorry but welcome to the real fucking world...where this shit happens to normal everyday citizens. I don't condone what happened at all... But the reaction from the congressmen and woman is ridiculous. The Iives of the 1% matter more, right?

A congressman 10 year old son was there.... AND? he wasn't hurt. I swear, I'm not surprised this happened. The MSM are a bunch of assholes and antognize people.